 /US
Church ordered to pay
$10.9 million
for funeral protest
By AP from cnn.com on
the Web, October 31, 2007
BALTIMORE, Maryland (AP) -- A
grieving father won a nearly $11 million verdict Wednesday against a
fundamentalist Kansas church that pickets military funerals in the belief that
the war in Iraq is a punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.
Albert Snyder of York, Pennsylvania, sued the Westboro Baptist Church for
unspecified damages after members demonstrated at the March 2006 funeral of his
son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq.
The jury first awarded $2.9 million in compensatory damages. It returned
later in the afternoon with its decision to award $6 million in punitive damages
for invasion of privacy and $2 million for causing emotional distress.
U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett noted the size of the award for compensating
damages "far exceeds the net worth of the defendants," according to financial
statements filed with the court.
Church members routinely picket funerals of military personnel killed in Iraq
and Afghanistan, carrying signs such as "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "God
hates fags."
A number of states have passed laws regarding funeral protests, and Congress has
passed a law prohibiting such protests at federal cemeteries.
But the Maryland lawsuit is believed to be the first filed by the family of a
fallen serviceman.
The church and three of its leaders -- the Rev. Fred Phelps and his two
daughters, Shirley Phelps-Roper and Rebecca Phelps-Davis, 46 -- were found
liable for invasion of privacy and intent to inflict emotional distress.
Snyder claimed the protests intruded upon what should have been a private
ceremony and sullied his memory of the event.
The church members testified they are following their religious beliefs by
spreading the message that the deaths of soldiers are due to the nation's
tolerance of homosexuality.
Their attorneys argued in closing statements Tuesday that the burial was a
public event and that even abhorrent points of view are protected by the First
Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and religion.
The judge said the church's financial statements, sealed earlier, could be
released to the plaintiffs.
Earlier, church members staged a demonstration outside the federal courthouse.
Church founder Fred Phelps held a sign reading "God is your enemy," while
Shirley Phelps-Roper stood on an American flag and carried a sign that read "God
hates fag enablers."
Members of the group sang "God Hates America" to the tune of "God Bless
America."
Snyder sobbed when he heard the verdict, while members of the church greeted the
news with tightlipped smiles.
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